Marcellus, Westhill boys lacrosse win playoff openers

J-E unable to hold early lead in loss to LaFayette

Goals by Zach Wagner and Sam Robles had the Eagles up early, 2-0. After LaFayette got on the board, Robles scored again, and Dale Wagner scored in the last seconds of the first quarter before Nate Town made it 5-1 early in the second period. Dreams of a J-E upset took hold.

But just as quickly, those dreams dissipated. LaFayette pummeled J-E’s defense the rest of the half, scoring eight unanswered goals before Robles made it 9-6, where it stood at halftime. But the Lancers couldn’t be stopped, as it outscored J-E 8-1 in the third quarter to put things away.

Battling to the final seconds, the Eagles saw Robles and Dale Wagner both finish with three-goal hat tricks, while Zach Wagner scored twice. Town and Logan Schwarting each had one goal and one assist as Dylan Dunham also found the net. Matt Bennett and Nick Gaswaldo led LaFayette with four goals apiece, Bennett adding four assists.

Before all this, Westhill had a golden opportunity in last Tuesday’s game at Christian Brothers Academy, but a tough second half ended that quest as it lost, 15-7, to the Brothers.

For three quarters, neither side could make any kind of headway. Led by Centore and Easterly, each of whom had two goals and one assist, Westhill played CBA on even terms.

But it all turned in the early stages of the fourth quarter, when the Warriors, tied 7-7, saw CBA’s Jack Zerillo score twice in a 25-second span.

From that point on, Westhill’s defense wore down, and the Brothers exploited it, especially Braedon Gait, who poured in seven goals to match the Warriors’ entire output, while Zerillo finished with three goals and three assists.